Tag: companies

Few companies reported seeing collateral damage related to tariffs, though Apple said earlier this month it was seeing signs of weakness in sales in China. Up next week, profit reports from Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Procter & Gamble, American Airlines, Starbucks, Intel and others. The big banks were the first major group of companies to report this week and their results were a mixed bag. Both companies reported stronger-than-expected results across the board, sending their stocks shooting higher.

Earnings are shaping up to be better than people expected. Or at least, they’re not as bad as feared.

Big banks struggled in bond trading in the fourth quarter but posted strong results in consumer businesses and solid credit quality, an indicator that American households are doing well. Few companies reported seeing collateral damage related to tariffs, though Apple said earlier this month it was seeing signs of weakness in sales in China.

So far in fourth quarter reporting season, with 11 percent of the results reported for the S&P 500, three-quarters of companies have actually surprised Wall Street’s forecasters with better than expected profit and a little more than half have reported better than expected revenue. Companies in communications services, consumer discretionary and health care have had the best showing, according to FactSet.

The solid showing is lifting stocks that were already retracing ground lost late last year. The S&P 500 ended the week up 2.9 percent and is up 6.5 percent for the year so far.

The big banks were the first major group of companies to report this week and their results were a mixed bag.

J. P. Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley both posted weaker-than-expected quarterly profits this week. In fact, it was J.P. Morgan’s first time missing expectations in 15 quarters. Citigroup rolled out stronger-than-forecast earnings as the company’s cost-cutting efforts offset weak performance in some of its businesses. Wells Fargo’s earnings beat estimates, but its revenue missed amid declines in its three key businesses.

Bank of America and Goldman Sachs were the big winners of the banking earnings season. Both companies reported stronger-than-expected results across the board, sending their stocks shooting higher.

CNBC’s Jim Cramer called Bank of America a growth stock, and the “Amazon” of banking.

Overall, profit growth isn’t expected to match last year’s brisk pace, but it is still expected to be double-digit. The average growth for S&P 500 companies is now seen as 10.6 percent, according to FactSet. If that comes to pass, it will be the fifth straight quarter of double-digit growth.

Ten of the S&P’s 11 sectors are reporting or expected to report growth, and six of the sectors are expected to report profit growth in the double-digit range, led by energy, industrials and communications services.

Analysts have been cutting their forecasts for growth this year, something that injected some doubt into the markets and pushed stocks lower late last year. But a 2019 rally has regained a lot of that ground as fears about a recession later this year fade and worries about trade tensions and Fed interest rate hikes dissipate.

The anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties are the latest in a series of EU measures against Chinese exports ranging from solar panels to steel, which have sparked strong words from Beijing. The Commission found Chinese exports of e-bikes to the European Union more than tripled from 2014 until September 2017. It has also said Chinese producers benefit from controlled aluminium prices as well as advantageous financing and land rights conditions and tax breaks. The European Bicycle Manufacturers Ass

The anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties are the latest in a series of EU measures against Chinese exports ranging from solar panels to steel, which have sparked strong words from Beijing.

The Commission found Chinese exports of e-bikes to the European Union more than tripled from 2014 until September 2017. Their market share rose to 35 percent, while their average prices fell by 11 percent.

It has also said Chinese producers benefit from controlled aluminium prices as well as advantageous financing and land rights conditions and tax breaks.

Taiwan’s Giant, one of the world’s largest bicycle makers, which has factories in China as well as in the Netherlands, would be subject to a rate of 24.8 percent.

The European Bicycle Manufacturers Association said it applauded the move that it said would shield 800 small and medium sized companies employing 90,000 people.

However, it warned that Chinese e-bike manufacturers were already making their way to Europe via third countries where they were being repackaged.

LEVA-EU, a group including importers opposed to duties, said the tariffs were protectionist and absurd, saying they would hit consumers and other smaller European companies and went against the EU’s climate change goals.

Student loan refinancing companies say they offer borrowers a way to save thousands of dollars on their debt, by allowing them to pay off their loans at a lower interest rate, in less time. Recently, the government found that online lender SoFi was misleading consumers on how much they’ll save if they refinance their student debt with them. The company’s ads boasted average discounts of more than $22,000, but in its calculations the company excluded certain borrowers for whom refinancing resulte

Student loan refinancing companies say they offer borrowers a way to save thousands of dollars on their debt, by allowing them to pay off their loans at a lower interest rate, in less time.

The reality can be much different.

Recently, the government found that online lender SoFi was misleading consumers on how much they’ll save if they refinance their student debt with them.

The company’s ads boasted average discounts of more than $22,000, but in its calculations the company excluded certain borrowers for whom refinancing resulted in a more expensive loan, the government found. In a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, SoFi agreed to stop its misrepresentations.

SoFi spokeswoman Brielle Villablanca said the company has always been committed to giving its current and prospective members clear and complete information, in a statement to CNBC.

5G in Finland: How one country is betting big on the high-speed network 1:34 AM ET Thu, 27 Dec 2018 | 03:21IBM and Vodafone will launch a new venture aimed at boosting Europe’s 5G, A.I. The venture will allow Vodafone to access all of IBM’s cloud services, while the London-based telecommunications conglomerate will provide mobile infrastructure like 5G to Big Blue. CCS Insight, a technology research company, estimates Europe will only capture 9 percent of the world’s 5G subscribers by 2023. Part

5G in Finland: How one country is betting big on the high-speed network 1:34 AM ET Thu, 27 Dec 2018 | 03:21

IBM and Vodafone will launch a new venture aimed at boosting Europe’s 5G, A.I. and cloud capabilities, the companies announced Thursday.

The venture will allow Vodafone to access all of IBM’s cloud services, while the London-based telecommunications conglomerate will provide mobile infrastructure like 5G to Big Blue.

“Bringing together this end-to-end idea from Vodafone and IBM is going to be a game-changer for our customers,” Michael Valoochi, general manager at IBM, told CNBC in a phone interview Thursday.

The announcement comes as Europe lags behind the U.S. and China in many so-called next-generation technologies like 5G. CCS Insight, a technology research company, estimates Europe will only capture 9 percent of the world’s 5G subscribers by 2023.

Partnerships between companies like IBM and Vodafone could help accelerate Europe’s foothold in new markets like cloud computing and 5G. U.S. companies are currently the biggest players in Europe’s cloud market.

The current U.S. government shutdown is not good for business, Microsoft president and chief legal officer, Brad Smith said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Thursday. “It is not good for business,” he said. “We can debate forever how much damage a closed government will cause to the economy, but there is one thing that is indisputable: it doesn’t help,” Smith said. “We have a strong balance sheet, and we can put it to work,” Smith said. WATCH: Microsoft President weighs in on the US-China trade spat

The current U.S. government shutdown is not good for business, Microsoft president and chief legal officer, Brad Smith said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Thursday.

“It is not good for business,” he said. “The sooner we can come together, the better off we’ll all be.”

The shutdown, which is approaching one month in length, could affect technology companies like Microsoft that depend on parts of the government for revenue.

Smith said it’s too early to say if the shutdown is currently hurting Microsoft, and that the company does work with some agencies that continue to operate through the shutdown.

“But I think we worry as well,” Smith said. “You have people who are responsible for the security of our airports that are not getting a paycheck. We’re involved in the philanthropic community here in Seattle to help them get food stamps.”

Smith said it’s not helping that companies aren’t able to be approved to go public during the shutdown.

“We can debate forever how much damage a closed government will cause to the economy, but there is one thing that is indisputable: it doesn’t help,” Smith said.

In recent months Smith has advocated for immigration reform and has suggested that governments begin regulating face recognition. On Thursday, in addition to addressing the government shutdown, Smith talked about how Microsoft has a sense of responsibility in pledging $500 million for affordable housing in the Puget Sound.

“We have a strong balance sheet, and we can put it to work,” Smith said.

Walmart is adding more delivery companies to its roster to get groceries to shoppers’ homes. And the company says it’s still on track to have its online grocery delivery service available in more than 800 stores by the end of this fiscal year, then doubling that in 2019. Walmart continues to be a force to be reckoned with in the grocery industry, especially online. Online food and grocery sales in the U.S. are forecast by IGD to reach $59.5 billion in 2023, up from $23.9 billion last year. That

Walmart is adding more delivery companies to its roster to get groceries to shoppers’ homes.

The retailer said in a blog post Thursday it’s now working with Point Pickup, Skipcart, AxleHire and Roadie in cities across four states, to start, with a larger expansion to take place “in the coming weeks.” Walmart currently is working with DoorDash, Postmates and Deliv. And the company says it’s still on track to have its online grocery delivery service available in more than 800 stores by the end of this fiscal year, then doubling that in 2019.

Walmart continues to be a force to be reckoned with in the grocery industry, especially online.

Not only is the company experimenting with driverless cars to deliver bread and produce to shoppers’ doorsteps, but U.S. e-commerce chief Marc Lore recently said Walmart will find a way to one day put groceries right into customers’ refrigerators. It’s clearly not afraid to push the envelope. But it also has to compete with Amazon and its Whole Foods stores.

Online food and grocery sales in the U.S. are forecast by IGD to reach $59.5 billion in 2023, up from $23.9 billion last year. That would push e-commerce sales to account for 3.5 percent of the total market, compared with about 1.6 percent today.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pushed the sanctions resolution forward as a rebuke to the Treasury Department’s announcement in December that it would lift economic restrictions on Rusal, En+ and other companies in which Deripaska owned stakes. The companies had “committed to significantly diminish Deripaska’s ownership and sever his control,” Treasury said in a statement at the time, adding that Deripaska himself will remain under sanctions. The senator expects the administration

The failure to pass the motion effectively killed the resolution. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pushed the sanctions resolution forward as a rebuke to the Treasury Department’s announcement in December that it would lift economic restrictions on Rusal, En+ and other companies in which Deripaska owned stakes.

The companies had “committed to significantly diminish Deripaska’s ownership and sever his control,” Treasury said in a statement at the time, adding that Deripaska himself will remain under sanctions.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who had warned as a presidential candidate in the 2012 election that Russia is the United States’ top geopolitical foe, voted against Schumer’s resolution.

A spokeswoman for Romney said his vote “was in line with longstanding U.S. policy and will help preserve our leverage to gain concessions from other bad actors. The senator expects the administration to reimpose sanctions if these companies don’t comply.”

Romney’s vote follows a New Year’s Day op-ed in which the former Massachusetts governor, who has been rumored to be mulling a 2020 primary challenge against Trump, signaled he was carving out an independent position from the president.

“Trump’s words and actions have caused dismay around the world,” Romney wrote in the Washington Post op-ed.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had gone to Capitol Hill a day before the vote to address senators’ concerns about the sanctions plan.

David Kostin, chief U.S. equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC Wednesday where he would recommend investing amid the current uncertainty. So, if you’re looking for a stable business that is the nature of that business,” he said. A recurring revenue model is based on ongoing regular payments for a service or a product as opposed to one-time payment. More and more software companies are moving towards this model in order to ensure stability of profit streams. A number of software companies

U.S. equity markets have taken a battering in recent months amid trade war tensions, fears of an economic slowdown and Fed rate hikes – not to mention ongoing political uncertainty with the U.S. government shutdown.

David Kostin, chief U.S. equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC Wednesday where he would recommend investing amid the current uncertainty.

“From a strategy perspective we want to focus on companies and industries that are less economically sensitive,” he told CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche in London.

“So, the idea is that if the economy accelerates or re-accelerates, or deteriorates, what are some industries that have more stable characteristics? So look at the software industry in the U.S. – in 50 years, there has been only four quarters – out of 200 quarters – of negative real spending on software in the U.S. So, if you’re looking for a stable business that is the nature of that business,” he said.

“That’s why some of the software companies where there’s more of a recurring revenue stream is an attribute that we’re looking for in this environment,” he said, speaking from Goldman Sachs’ global strategy conference.

Government policy and Fed rate hiking policy are the biggest risks in the immediate term, Kostin said, but he said equity valuations look “reasonably attractive.”

He said software companies were “shifting more and more of their business revenue mix towards recurring revenues – (so) that’s an area to focus on,” he said.

A recurring revenue model is based on ongoing regular payments for a service or a product as opposed to one-time payment. More and more software companies are moving towards this model in order to ensure stability of profit streams.

A number of software companies rely on revenue from recurring services like cloud subscriptions.

Less than three years later the stock is trading closer to $100 per share, riding a massive 278 percent gain in 2018. When it was first named to the Disruptor 50 List in 2013, it was barely known. The same will be true of some of the companies that earn a spot on the 2019 Disruptor 50 List, and our new 15-year age limit gives CNBC even more capacity to identify the next generation of groundbreaking start-ups. In the end, 50 companies, with a combined valuation of more than $350 billion, made the

There is, perhaps, no better example of this than Twilio. The company, which provides voice, text, chat and video services to millions of app developers, was named to the Disruptor 50 List for four straight years, from 2013 to 2016, and then debuted at the New York Stock Exchange in June 2016 at $15 per share. Less than three years later the stock is trading closer to $100 per share, riding a massive 278 percent gain in 2018.

Twilio is an 11-year-old company. When it was first named to the Disruptor 50 List in 2013, it was barely known. The same will be true of some of the companies that earn a spot on the 2019 Disruptor 50 List, and our new 15-year age limit gives CNBC even more capacity to identify the next generation of groundbreaking start-ups.

So who’s next?

The competition will be tough. In 2018, 981 companies submitted nominations from the United States and around the world. In the end, 50 companies, with a combined valuation of more than $350 billion, made the final cut.

Nominees will be put through a comprehensive and rigorous process of researching and scoring across a wide range of quantitative and qualitative criteria. Winners will be notified in April, and the list will be published in May across CNBC’s TV and digital platforms.

To stay part of the conversation, follow @CNBCDisruptors on Twitter and look for updates at disruptor50.cnbc.com.

They’ve been citing the trade war with the U.S. as a major headwind to profits. Four weeks ago, FedEx shares plunged 10 percent, citing the U.S.-China trade war as a factor in its disappointing forecast. With earnings season starting this week, she believes more companies will emphasize the trade war impact in earnings warnings. “Companies have also, I think, overly blamed China,” Hooper said. According to Hooper, China is also in a position to effectively weather the U.S. imposed tariffs.

It’s a region of the world that’s a source of jitters, but Invesco sees opportunity.

The firm’s chief global market strategist, Kristina Hooper, lists China as a top investment play despite earnings warnings from U.S. multinational companies. They’ve been citing the trade war with the U.S. as a major headwind to profits.

Goodyear warned on Tuesday. Apple cautioned investors on Jan. 2 with its unprecedented iPhone sales warning. Four weeks ago, FedEx shares plunged 10 percent, citing the U.S.-China trade war as a factor in its disappointing forecast.

“There’s a lot of fear around China,” Hooper said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Futures Now.” “We’ve certainly seen that rush that could be characterized as a panic, and I do think that presents some opportunity.”

With earnings season starting this week, she believes more companies will emphasize the trade war impact in earnings warnings.

“Companies have also, I think, overly blamed China,” Hooper said.

According to Hooper, China is also in a position to effectively weather the U.S. imposed tariffs.

“I actually think China is going to put a lot of stimulus into its economy this year,” she said. “We won’t have to worry so much about what’s going on in terms of economic growth in China.”

China, the world’s largest manufacturer and goods exporter, is expected to overtake the U.S. as the biggest economy on the planet by next year. As for its trade war with the U.S., Hooper sees a good chance it will end this quarter.

“What we’re hearing is that the president [Donald Trump] is actually eager to make a deal,” she said. “It could be a deal on specifically China making some small concessions around buying some more U.S. products, and we could call it a day. That looks more and more like a possibility.”

For now, Hooper believes it makes sense for investors to target smaller cap companies because they have less exposure abroad. However, she also wouldn’t avoid multinationals.

“I wouldn’t walk away from U.S. companies that do have exposure to China,” Hooper said. “Some of them have already been hit. Prices have come down recently for a number of those names so that could represent an opportunity.”